Sealed box



July 6, 1948. w. A. RINGLER SEALED BOX 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 2,1944 mLLIFIM H. RINGLEQ. I INVENTO y 6, 1948- w. A. RINGLER 2,444,895

SEALED BOX Filed June 2, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VENT OR.

BY ZQZZ q-ize, M

M/ILLIHM H. HINGLER.

Patented July 6, 1948 V Gardner-Richardson Company, @hio, a corporationoil (this Application dune 2, 19M, derlal No. 538,429

My invention relates lJO bOXGE, particularly though not exclusively forfrozen food products, and has for a fundamental object the provision ofa paperboard carton which may behermetlcally sealed.

Another object is the provision of a scalable carton which is ofone-piece construction, and is thus both cheaper in cost and easier touse.

Another object is the provision oi a carton in which the operation ofclosure is simple and natural, requiring no tools, and in which theclosure is such as to provide a structure capable of being hermeticallysealed.

Still another object is the provision of a structure which permitsscaling in a simple manner and without the use of special tools andequipmeat, but which insures an hermetic tightness. My boxes are thus ofespecial value ior household deep-ireeze use, as will be apparenthereinaiter.

These and other objects oi my invention, which will be set forth belowor will be apparent to one skilled in the art upon reading thisspecification, I accomplish by that certain construction and arrangementoiparts, by that method, and in that sealed structure of which I shallnow describe an exemplary embodiment. Reference is made to theaccompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a blank for my exemplary carton.

iF'igure 2 is a partial perspective view of the erected carton bodyshowing an initial closure step.

Figure 3 is a similar view showing a second closure step.

Figure i is a similar view showing the completion of the closure.

Figure 5 is a similar view showing the sealed structure.

Figure. 6 is a similar view showing, however, parts sectioned across thesealed end.

Figure 7 is a partial sectional view of the sealed carton. I

In the practice of my invention, I provide a blank which may be formedinto a tubular, onepiece, collapsed carton. with certain specialfeatures of construction hereinafter described. As shown in Figure 1,the body of the carton consists oibody walls I, 2. 3 and d inarticulation with each other and with a glue flap b. The body wallsterminate endwise at longitudinal score lines 6 and. l, and are demarkedfrom each other and from the glue flap by score lines it. t. it and ii.

The body walls are provided with end closure flaps, the slits betweenwhich extend to the designed to extend across the tubular body 01" thecarton inwardly'irom the ends of it, for a it @lalmc. (or. 229-$9)purpose hereinafter described. Therefore, the blank is traversed byscorelines it and it spaced outwardly beyond'the score illness and 'l. Thedistance between the score, it and the score a and the distance betweenthe score it and the score i may be varied; but is chosen to give thedesired insetting of the closures. This insetting should be definite,but it need not be more than about a quarter of an inch in cartons oi asize and made from a weight of bonboard suitable for most frozen foodsin family-sized packages.

The closure portions of the closure flaps eretend beyond the score linesl2 and it. In the blank oi Figure l, the wall 2 is shown as having flapsiii and it, while the opposite wall d is shown as having flaps it andit. These flaps are provided with means, such as those shown at 22, 2t,2t and it, for interlocking with each other. Any suitable interlock willdo.

The wall ii is shown as having flaps Ill and ii. These flaps are notonly dimensioned to extendacross the body of the erected carton, butpreterably have portions 21! and it, demarlred by scores 2t and it, toextend upwardly toward the edge of the opposite wall l in the erectedand closed structure.

The remaining wall has flaps it and to dimensioned to extend across thecarton body in the inset position.

Since the closure elements are to extend across the carton body in aninset position, I find it useful to provide the body with score lines toand iii defining this position. These may, however,

be omitted if desired.

The blank of Figure l istubed on the ordinary carton machinery in theordinary way, with the adhesive junction of the glue flap t to the wall6. It is advantageous to adjust the machine so that in the tubedstructure, the glue flap lies outside the wall to which it is adhered,since then there will be no free, cut board edge inside the tubular bodyintermediate the side edges of the body walls. I The blank is preferablymade of prooied board, or is proofed after cutting and which ishereinafter described. Ordinary parafiln will serve for both.

The tubed carton is, of course, shipped and stored in the collapsedcondition. For-use, it is squared-up or erected, and an end closureefiected as follows: The flaps it and it are engaged by means of theirinterlocks, and they are then depressed into the end of thecarton bodywhereupon they spring into positionas an inset platform. as shown inFigure 2. Next, the flap H is folded over and depressed so that itcoincides with the platform, its extension 21 lying upwardly against theopposite wall, as in Figure 3. Next, the flap i6 is bent over anddepressed, as shown in Figure 4.

The carton now has a closure inset from its ends. The dimensions of theclosure flaps-at least of flaps l6 and llis such that they fit snugly,requiring them to be forced into position under gentle pressure, so asto form a tight closure across the box body and at the corners. Theclosure presents outwardly the aspect of a shallow tray. An hermeticseal may be efiected by pouring into this tray a sealing substance, asat 32 in Figures 5, 6 and 7. Again, the nature of the sealing substanceis not a limitation on my invention. It should be compatible with theboard and with any proofing agent thereon. It is advantageously, thoughnot necessarily, of thermoplastic character.

Excellent results are achieved through the use of paraflln as a sealingsubstance with parafllned cartons. The sealing substance forms a solidblock seal across the end of the carton. It is not necessary, however,that the tray be entirely filled with the sealing substance. The.sealing substance not only creeps-up the side edges of the tray as shownin Figure '7, butit enters any fissures at the corners oi the tray,insuring an hermetic seal. In a carton, say, four by four inches incross-sectional dimensions, best results are attained by pouring in atablespoonful of paraffin, permitting it to set, and then pouring inanother tablespoonful.

When the carton has been closed and sealed on one end, it may beinverted, filled with its contents, and closed and sealed on the otherend by a repetition of the steps above outlined. The

sealing of both ends of the cartons may be deferred until after thefilling operation and the closure of both ends; but this is notadvantageous if the contents include liquid substances. It will be notedthat both the closure and the sealing of my cartons are accomplishedwithout special equipment, and in a simple manner, and by operationswhich the housewife will find natural and easy.

Modifications may be made in my invention without departing from thespirit of it. Having thus described my invention in an exemplaryembodiment, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patentis:

. 1. A knock-down one-piece carton capable of being sealed at an end bya cast body of initially liquid sealing substance, said cartoncomprising four enclosing body walls in articulation and a glue flaparticulated to one of said body walls, said glue flap being adhesivelysecured to the body wall at the opposite side of the blank from saidglue flap to form a tubular body open at both ends, and integral closureflaps at an end of each of said body walls, said closure flaps beingarticulated to the ends of the respective body walls by spacing portionsadapted to parallel the respective body walls within the tubular portionwhen the flaps are in closure position, whereby to inset the flaps fromthe ends of the body walls, two at least of said closure flaps beingshaped and dimensioned to extend entirely across the transverse sectionof said tubular body and to require to be forced into position to engagethe inturned spacing portionstightly, said spacing portions beingrectangular in shape and of full length, so

that by the combined action or the said flaps and y the abutment of theends of the spacing portions against each other an inset closure oftray-like shape may be formed from said closure flaps and spacingportions, said closure being characterized by aiold at the end of saidbody walls and capable of holding a setabie liquid sealing substancepoured therein to form a cast seal, covering said flaps and sealing bycapillarity the meeting lines at the ends o1 said spacing portions.

2. A sealed package comprising the structure of claim 1 in erected andclosed condition with a cast filling of a sealing substance within saidtray-like closure.

3. The structure claimed in claim 1, wherein the body walls are providedwith a score line substantially at the inset position of the closure.

4. The structure claimed in claim 1, wherein an opposite pair of flapsare provided with interlocking means whereby they may be interlocked Ifile of this patent:

-. and then depressed to inset position.

5. The structure claimed in claim 1, wherein an opposite pair 0! flapsare provided with interlocking means whereby they may be interlocked andthen depressed to inset position, and in which another flap arranged tooverlie the interlocking flaps is provided with an extension on itsouter end arranged to parallel a wall opposite to the wall to which itis articulated.

6. The'structure claimed in claim 1, wherein an opposite pair 01' flapsare provided with interlocking means whereby they may be interlocked andthen depressed to inset position, and in which another flap arranged tooverlie the interlocking flaps is provided with an extension on itsouter end arranged to parallel a wall opposite to the wall to which itis articulated, the paperboard walls of said structure being coated witha proofing substance.

"I. The structure claimed in claim 2, wherein the carton is formed ofparafllned board and the sealing substance is paraflln.

8. The structure claimed in claim 2, wherein the carton is'form'ed ofparafllned board and the sealing substance is paraflin, wherein a pairof the closure flaps are interlocked to form a supporting platform andwherein the remaining closure flaps are each shaped to engage tightlyREFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the UNITEDSTATES PATENTS Number Name Date 616,037 Thomson Dec. 13. 1898 1,039,026Carter Sept. 17, 1912 1,069,021 Miller July 29, 1913 1,852,527 King Apr.5, 1932 1,941,514 Sutherland Jan. 2, 1934

